


down by the creek

by supersalamander



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24013630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supersalamander/pseuds/supersalamander
Summary: jade meets a girl at the creek behind her house.
Relationships: Jade Harley/Aradia Megido
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> shout-out to my gf cyrus and my friend jamie for beta reading!

along the back of your grandfather’s farm runs a creek. the water is crisp and clean, except when it rains and the reddish clay clouds it. the banks are sandstone and limestone and mud and shaded by huge oak trees and a few smaller pines. there are frogs and turtles and minnows, and bigger fish when storms make the water run deep enough, and sometimes you find fossils in the rock, corals and the like. 

you’ve seen a lot of interesting things at the creek. even when your grandfather used to tell you and your sister not to go there, it’s dangerous, there could be snakes or something. you went anyway, and saw birds and possums and beavers. but by far the most interesting thing you’ve seen at the creek was her.  
she must have wandered into the area, not knowing it was someone’s land. when you go to the creek the day after school lets out, your dog bec happy to feel the fresh air, you see her crouched by the bank, a chubby japanese girl about your age. she’s dressed in a black button down patterned with red skulls, and a long grey skirt, the hem of which is wet and stained with clay. there’s a bird skull on a chain around her neck. her hair is partially twisted on the sides of her head, not quite like space buns but maybe twisting horns. she’s smiling as she slowly scrapes away at sandstone with a small screwdriver. also, you note, she’s very pretty. 

hearing you approach, she looks up. “hi!” she says, enthusiastically enough to startle a bird on a nearby branch. 

“what are you doing on my land?” you ask. not mad, just curious. most people around here know about your grandfather and his extensive collection of guns. 

“this is your land? sorry, i didn’t realize. we just moved here.” makes sense as to why she’s willing to trespass. you don’t actually give a fuck if she does or not. other people might, though. 

“it’s fine,” you say quickly, so she doesn’t think you’re threatening her, “i’m jade, by the way. i live here with my sister june and our grandfather.”

“aradia! and i’m looking for fossils, by the way. this is prime devonian rock right here.” she pats the stone she’s working on, seeming excited by this. you’ve always liked the fossils around here, but you don’t know all that much about them. you wonder if you should learn.  
you leap carefully across the stream to the bank she sits at, careful not to fall in as the denim of your overalls does not dry quickly. the spring has been wet, so the water rushes past as you lean down to see what she's doing. she seems to have uncovered some sort of fish skeleton, tiny but intact. she’s using a flathead screwdriver and a plastic paintbrush to painstakingly remove it from the rock, careful not to harm it. 

she sees you watching over her shoulder. “i supposed this belongs to you,” she says, a bit dejected, “mineral rights and all.”

“nah,” you decide, “keep it. and feel free to come back whenever.” you’ve decided you rather like aradia. 

she smiles widely, and continues digging away. 

you walk back into your farmhouse, making sure to stomp the mud off your boots before entering. june is sitting at the kitchen table, messing around with something on her computer. “see anything interesting out there?” she asks. you weigh whether or not to tell june about aradia. it’s not that you don’t trust your sister, you just don’t want your grandfather to know there’s been someone on his land. he’s not very forgiving about those kinds of things. 

you decide you can trust her. “there was a girl out there. our age. she was digging for fossils at the creek. she seemed pretty nice.”

“really? don’t tell grandpa, he’d flip his shit,” she replies, as if she thinks you hadn’t considered that. 

“of course. anyway, she might as well dig them up. its not like we do,” you reason. 

“yeah,” she says, “might as well.”

“anyway, what have you been up to?” you ask, figuring she might like to talk about that. 

“oh, i’ve been working on my game. i’ve made good progress, but i can’t seem to figure this one fucking part out. i’m just getting error after error.” 

“damn. wish i could help.” you’re good at building things, but not programming them. just goes right over your head. you suppose if you put more effort into it, you could learn, but you just don’t care all that much. june has it under control. 

“yeah, me too. anyway, i’m gonna get back to work.” she returns to her typing, and you return to your room. 

you flop down on your bed. it’s hot outside, and the electric fan feels nice. for a moment, you just lay there, hearing it whir and thinking about nothing. you hear june yell “fuck!” from the kitchen, followed by, “never mind!”

your mind wanders back to aradia. you wonder if she has family in town. why else would she move out here? you also wonder what exactly she had found out there at the creek. you knew it was a fish, but what kind? had she found more? what exactly was out there?

you remember she had said the rock was devonian. you sit up, slowly, and pick up your laptop, lying on the bed next to you. you search for "devonian" and click on the wikipedia page. you read it, and related pages, and suddenly it’s been an hour or so and your grandfather is getting home. hearing him in the hall, you set the computer back down. maybe tomorrow, you’ll go out and help aradia.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it rains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you jamie for reading this! quote from them: “the vibes were immaculate”

it rains hard the next day. you hike down to the creek anyway, worn out froggy rain boots squelching through mud and wet grass. you don’t bring bec. too muddy. the creek is rushing past. aradia isn’t there, but you can see that she had successfully removed her fish. the rain and current has weathered the stone a bit, so it looks like there may be more of something underneath. you remind yourself to come out later when it’s not, y’know, actively pouring. 

you stand at the creek crossing for a while, listening to the rain, staring at nothing in particular. you wonder what aradia is up to. unpacking, maybe. you know how long that can take. 

you’ve never moved, but when you were 13, june moved in after your grandmother died. you weren’t sure why the two of you didn’t grow up together (this isn’t the fucking parent trap), but you were glad you weren’t so alone any more. 

you decide to go into town. you’re not sure what else to do since most of the farm is too muddy to explore, and you want to go to the library to check out books on paleontology. since reading up on it, you’ve found it really interests you. besides, maybe you’ll see one of your friends. or aradia. 

you climb into an old rusty green pickup, and turn the key in the ignition. it turns on, but makes some weird noises you’re pretty sure a car in good condition shouldn’t as it does. doesn’t matter. you’ve gotta drive something. 

you enjoy driving. it gives you a chance to think. you can just throw some music on and contemplate things. you used to hate driving, back when you were learning, but you don’t any more. anyway, it’s the only way to get into town without walking five miles. you turn up the radio as the rain splats on the windshield. 

some of us are wild ones,   
ever under wanted, i believe  
lining up in the background,  
waiting for the crowd shot to be seen

the drive is uneventful. you stop at a parking lot in front of the town’s only bookstore, an old place owned by the lalondes called “salamancer’s.” you rush inside to avoid getting soaked. 

a bell rings as you push the door open. given the weather, the store is pretty empty, with only one or two customers browsing the dark wooden shelves. roxy, working at the counter, greets you, “hi, jade!” you smile and wave, walking up to the counter. 

“do you have any books on paleontology?” you ask. 

“i can check,” replies roxy. you tap your fingers on the old wood of the counter as they type something on the computer and then scribble something down on the counter. “there’s a couple back there, i think,” they say finally, pointing to a corner and handing you the list of titles and authors they had made. 

you’re crouched in the corner, looking through books, when the bell rings again. you turn it’s aradia. you freeze, not sure what to do. do you say hi? ignore her?

it doesn’t actually matter because she sees you, says “hi, jade!” a little too loud for the quiet shop, and walks over. you blush a little. 

“hey!” you say, trying to act like you know what to do. she crouches next to you. 

“whatcha looking for?” she asks. 

“oh, uh, just some books on paleontology. figured i’d learn more about those fossils out there,” you reply, a bit awkwardly. 

“that’s neat!” she exclaims quietly, “any good ones?” you gesture at a small stack on the floor you’re looking through. 

“well, i’m going to head out. check out town. wanna come with? i mean, if you don’t have anything else going on,” she asks, grinning. 

you smile. “yeah, i think i would.”

the rain has slowed down. not stopped, but it’s just a light drizzle now, and neither of you cares. the two of you stroll down the street. you decided to get ice cream at skaia cones, an older place with worn leather booths and the best ice cream you’ve ever eaten.

ms. paint, the owner, a short fat hijabi woman in her sixties, nods and smiles as you and aradia walk in. “the usual?” she asks.

“yes, please!” you reply enthusiastically. “prospit lemonade,” you explain to aradia, who seemed curious. she scans the menu, before deciding on derse grape. 

you sit at a booth by the window, watching raindrops trace their way lazily down the glass. hung on the walls is ms. paint’s artwork. she decorates the place with all her favorite pieces. it’s a moment before either of you speak, too busy digging in. 

you finally break the silence. “so, why did y’all move out here? there’s not all that much.”

“my parents bought some old farm out here. not entirely sure why. they keep changing their reasons. it’s about gardening and getting back to nature or something, i think,” she says. 

“oh, you must have the old strider farm. they moved away a while back. can’t remember anything about them, think they were nice enough though.” you would try harder to remember, but you don’t care all that much. your new neighbors seem way cooler. 

“yeah, probably. we don’t have the rock formations you do, though. i’m hoping to find something good.”

“well, i bet you will. when it stops raining, you should come over. meet my sister, maybe even have lunch or something,” you offer. 

“i think that sounds nice,” she replies, smiling characteristically, “can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> roxy here is transfem nb. i know making roxy transmasc hurt a lot of people and im not interested in doing that


End file.
